Caoxi Si Temple

To the west of the Thermal Springs of Anning (1km/.6mi) stands the Caoxi Si Temple, erected under the Tang dynasty (618-907) and later rebuilt on several occasions. In honored place in the main hall dating from the Song period (960-1279) is a Buddha statue which by some strange phenomenon is invested with almost mythical powers of attraction. Every 60 years on the evening of the 15th day of the 8th month (according to the Chinese calendar) a ray of moonlight passes through a small window and falls on the middle of the Buddha's brow, forming a point of light there; as the moon slowly rises up in the sky, the point of light moves further and further down, until finally it reaches the navel of the sculpture and disappears